The complaint is the main instrument whereby an aggrieved party, affected by anticompetitive behaviour, may bring its situation to the attention of a public enforcement agency. The persons who lodge such complaints must, as a rule, justify an interest in the opening of an investigation, such as the existence of damage produced by the behaviour. Even if the investigation is opened pursuant to a complaint, it is always conducted ex-officio by the competition agency; complainants may enjoy certain procedural rights, such as the right to receive a copy of the statement of objections (investigation report) and the right to be heard by the adjudicating board, before a final decision is taken in the case and, consequently, to challenge the decision in a court of law if the result is not deemed satisfactory. In all jurisdictions, complaints are an important source of information about the operation of markets; competition authorities often have specific provisions for the handling of the complaints, including designated templates.
Complaint
Author Definition
Definition
An act of informing a competition authority about possible infringements of the competition rules; complaints are often made in writing and in standard formats prescribed by the recipient authority. The competition authority that receives a complaint might decide to open an investigation into the alleged wrongdoing and it must motivate its decision in case it decides to reject the complaint. In the EU, where a complaint is lodged by an entity that has a legitimate interest in bringing the claim – such as being damaged by the alleged wrongdoing – its author enjoys certain procedural rights during the investigation.
Commentary
Institution Definition
Request by a natural or legal person who claims a legitimate interest asking the Commission to investigate an alleged infringement of EU competition law and to bring it to an end. Formal complaints oblige the Commission to act (either to find that there is an infringement or to reject the complaint) and give the complainant certain procedural rights, like the right to be heard. Informal complaints (where a complainant refuses disclosure of the information he provides) or anonymous complaints may lead the Commission to open a case, but confer no rights to the complainant. © European Commission
Case Comments
The General Court annuls the decision of the Commission to approve the recapitalisation of Lufthansa by Germany, amounting to €6 billion euros, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic* The Commission committed several errors, in particular, by considering that Lufthansa was unable to obtain (...)
On May 10, 2023, the General Court of the European Union handed down a judgment in joined cases T-34/21 (Ryanair v. European Commission) and T-87/21 (Condor Flugdienst v. European Commission).. The Court of First Instance annulled the decision of June 25, 2020 by which the Commission (...)
The Tenth Chamber of the European Court of First Instance reached precisely the same conclusion ona judgment delivered on the same day, May 10, 2023, in case T-238/21 (Ryanair DAC v. European Commission).reached the same conclusion, namely that the Commission’s decision of August 17, 2020 (...)
Facts. SARL MPH Distribution, which wholesales agricultural products to supermarket chains, filed an action via its liquidator for the restitution of sums it considered to have been wrongly received by various Casino Group companies. At issue were the validity of sums corresponding to credit (...)
The EU Courts have played an important role in the evolution of the EU Merger Regulation (the “EUMR”), acting as an effective check on its application by the European Commission (the “Commission”), exerting discipline over Commission decisions in the same way as U.S. courts discipline the U.S. federal agencies’ determinations of whether mergers should be allowed to proceed. In recent years, as described further below, the EU Courts have rendered a number of important judgements that, among other things, have clarified the Commission’s application of the EUMR’s substantive test (i.e., whether a concentration will significantly impede effective competition) to “gap” cases (i.e., horizontal mergers that will not create or strengthen a dominant position but nevertheless raise unilateral effects concerns) and confirmed the Commission’s March 2021 policy of encouraging national competition agencies to refer transactions to the Commission under Article 22 of the EUMR that do not meet the relevant national merger control thresholds but nevertheless threaten to have significant anti-competitive effects in the EU. This Foreword describes the EU Courts’ contribution to merger control and identifies some of the leading judgments rendered at the national level, where courts have also played an active role in shaping merger control.
Facts. Following an investigation carried out in 2016, the French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry served two writs of summons on Intermarché Casino Achat (INCAA) and its principals ITM Alimentaire International (Intermarché) and Casino (EMC Distribution) for abusive commercial (...)
Application for review of injunctions: The Autorité de la concurrence declares Interflora’s complaint inadmissible* Background On 1 December 2020, Interflora France referred to the Autorité de la concurrence for a review of the injunctions issued against it by Decision of the Minister for (...)
On February 8, 2023, the Court of First Instance of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-538/21 (Penya Barça Lyon: More than just supporters (PBL) and WA v. European Commission). In it, the Court of First Instance dismissed the action brought by a "socio" (member) of Barcelona (...)
Was the recruitment of Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain Football Club(PSG) made possible by the granting of state aid? This is essentially the question - original to say the least - raised by the case that led to the judgment under review. However, it will not be answered in the latter, (...)
By judgment delivered on February 2, 2023, the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal declared the appeal lodged by Gaz de Bordeaux and its successive parent companies, Régaz-Bordeaux and Bordeaux Métropole Energies, against the decision n° 22-D-17 in which the Authority fined Gaz de (...)
On January 31, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in the State aid case C-284/21 (European Commission v. Anthony Braesch and others). It follows the appeal lodged by the Commission, in which it sought the annulment of the judgment of the European Court of (...)
The Italian bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena [hereinafter "BMPS"] carried out a capital increase in 2008, underwritten by J. P. Morgan Securities [hereinafter "JPM"], by means of contracts (known as Fresh). JPM obtained the necessary funds from a financial institution, which issued bonds (...)
The Belgian Competition Authority has decided to dismiss Telenet’s complaint against Proximus and Orange regarding their mobile infrastructure sharing agreement ("RAN-sharing")* In October 2019, Telenet Group NV and Telenet BVBA ("Telenet"), a provider of fixed and mobile telephony, internet (...)
On January 25, 2023, the General Court of the Union issued a judgment in case T-640/16 RENV (GEA Group AG v. European Commission). It will be recalled that in 2009, the Commission imposed fines of €173 million on ten producers of heat stabilizers for fixing prices, sharing customers, (...)
Heat stabilizers had not inspired the Commission to take precisely lukewarm decisions; the European Union General Court takes the matter further with January 25, 2023(T-640/16 RENV, GEA Group). As a reminder, in a decision dated November 11, 2009 (case COMP/38589), the European Commission (...)
Articles
This section selects books on themes related to competition laws and economics. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey of themes important in the area. The survey usually covers publication over the last three months after publication of the latest issue of (...)
The prior control of the granting of State aid by an independent and supranational authority, the European Commission, constitutes the essential cornerstone of the creation of the internal market. However, State aid procedural rules have privileged Member States, whilst third parties, (...)
The decisions of the French Competition Authority accepting antitrust commitments are likely to have an impact on the legal and economic situation of various operators on the market. Thus, both the complainant company and the co-contracting companies of the undertaking company and, more (...)
In recent years, Canadian competition law has witnessed a renewed interest in private enforcement. Several cases from the Supreme Court of Canada highlighted the fact that indirect and umbrella purchasers could take part in a class action, notably pursuant to Quebec’s civil law. The similarity (...)
Every year the OECD/Korea Policy Centre offers judges in Asia-Pacific an opportunity to discuss competition law and competition economics in order to endow judges in the region with the tools to deal with competition cases in their jurisdictions. 1. The ninth OECD/Korea Policy Centre (...)
Article 13 of Regulation 1/2003 entitles a national competition authority or the Commission to suspend proceedings or reject a complaint on the grounds that the same agreement, decision of an association or practice brought to its attention, is being dealt, or has already been dealt with, by (...)
The decisions commented in this article confirm the main features of the private enforcement of antitrust law in France. It is still a varied litigation between businesses. In follow-on litigations, claimants experience some recurring problems regarding prescription and passing on defence. In (...)
Ever since the enactment of the Dutreil Act on August 2, 2005, France’s commercial practices oversight committee (the CEPC) has, each year, prepared a report on case law developments in the area of restrictive practices (Title IV of Book IV of the Commercial Code). The report is drawn up on (...)
The President of the Republic promised before being elected to promote new economic regulation tools aiming at restoring a level playing field between consumers and suppliers. Class action will offer effective collective legal remedies to deal with mass consumption litigation and to compensate (...)
The Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements (FTAIA) requirements which delineates the antitrust law’s exterritorial reach, have been strictly interpreted under the Supreme Court Landmark decision Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. v. Empagran SA rendered in 2004. The plaintiffs have to satisfy a proximate (...)
1. At a time when attempts are being made to "decriminalise" business law in France1 , Article L. 420-6 of the Commercial Code is in the hot seat. This article punishes with €75,000 and four years’ imprisonment all those who have "fraudulently taken a personal and decisive part in the design, (...)
Events
Annual Concurrences & George Washington University conference, with the support of Axinn, CRA, Compass Lexecon, Cornerstone Research, Orrick, Qualcomm, White & Case and MLex.
Lunchtalk organised by Concurrences in partnership with Gide Loyrette Nouel.
Law & Economics Workshop organized by Concurrences Review in partnership with Magenta and Oxera.
Antitrust Procedure Workshop organized by Concurrences in partnership with Herbert Smith Freehills.
Law & Economics Workshop organized by Concurrences in partnership with MAPP and Allen & Overy.
Workshop organized by Concurrences in partnership with Clifford Chance.
Kaï-Uwe Kuhn
Frédéric Jenny
Dirk Arts
Anne Perrot
Catherine Prieto
Patrick Hubert
Irène Luc